Game Preview: Stars at Hawks

We'll just let the inaugural issue of The Committed Indian tell the story: As always, click to enlarge.

Kane > Crosby

According to Alexander Semin of the Capitals anyway...

In an interview with Puck Daddy Semin had this to say:

What's so special about [Crosby]? I don't see anything special there. Yes, he does skate well, has a good head, good pass. But there's nothing else. Even if you compare him to Patrick Kane from Chicago ... [Kane] is a much more interesting player. The way he moves, his deking abilities, his thinking on the ice and his anticipation of the play is so superb.

Next step is just to get 120 points in the season and the Hart Trophy.. he's already got the Calder that Crosby missed out on...

Winter Classic Info

Finally - some news about the Winter Classic tickets - From the Sun Times:

Blackhawks’ season-ticket holders finally got the word on tickets for the Jan. 1 Winter Classic matchup with the Detroit Red Wings at Wrigley Field on Tuesday.

They’re being offered tickets in three price categories -- $75, $225 and $325. Season-ticket holders, of which there are about 14,000, will get first crack at tickets to the outdoor game and Wrigley Field is expected to accommodate 41,000.

The NHL is planning to release additional ticket information no later than Monday.

If those tickets are going to be standard for all - that's a hell of a lot less than expected.

As of right now the cheapest tickets on StubHub are $330 while the most expensive are $10,000. I'd still be interested to see what Season Ticket holders are told exactly about where their seats will be.

UPDATE: Puck Daddy has a great breakdown of what's going on so far.

3's are wild

Hawks are back to a perfect .500 now, 3-3-3.

Sharp and Keith continue to be the all-stars of this team as both played solid games and scored the two goals for the Hawks. The fourth line continues to play well - hitting hard and not committing too many mistakes... Hell even Havlat is playing pretty well.

But there's still way to many fuck ups to really compete in the league, especially in the tougher Western Conference. Campbell's guarenteed spin-o-rama move came in the 2nd period and while of course it looks fun when it's done right it looks pathetic when you get knocked over trying it and the other teams scores on the turnover. Quit the cute moves and just play.

Toews continues to be snakebit.. He's playing pretty solid, even though his -2 last night doesn't really look great, he's making good moves and taking plenty of shots but just can't finish anything.

It was good to see the Hawks shooting more last night, although I'd have taken less shots overall if they had just been better quality. No one is just crashing the net and screening the goalie - and a player like Backstrom isn't going to give you anything cheap.

The Hawks looked tired out there tonight - there's 3 days of rest before the Stars come to the UC. Lets hope it helps.

Your Red Wings review and Wild Preview all in one..

Here's the review part - it sucked.

Hawks came out in the third and gave away 3 goals in the opening 10 minutes only to (thankfully) tie it with a two man advantage. They were lucky to get the one point out of the game since they let the game get away from them after outplaying Detroit for most of the game.

The Hawks failed again in the shootout - I don't know what happened with Kane but last year he was almost automatic in the shootout but hasn't put one in yet this year.

Sopel still sucks but Havlat continues to play great - including another pretty goal in the second.

As was mentioned in the comments in the last post - there were a lot of "Lets go red wings" chants going on. While they were constantly shouted down with the "detroit sucks" response it was a very unwelcome sound to hear the Wings fans be so loud. In my section there was an entire row of them sitting behind me. However, since none of them actually were wearing any Wings gear, and couldn't even bother to wear anything red, I have to say I'm thinking they were nothing more than fair-weather fans coming out since the Wings won the cup. Fair enough, but they probably won't be back unless the wings repeat - which they could very well do.

So now the preview:

The biggest news for this game is obviously the changes made. Hendry and Hjalmarsson have been sent down - Barker is called up. They aren't losing much since Hendry's only impact on stats has been 4 PIM and -1. I can't say he's really stood out in any of the games. Hjalmarsson was only able to play in one game so far before being injured.

Barker meanwhile has stepped up and has 5 points in 7 games down in Rockford.

The Wild have yet to lose in regulation and only one OT loss but like the Hawks they've been shakey in the 3rd period lately. The Hawks will need stay strong and not have as many mistakes late in the game. Otherwise, they've actually been playing pretty well. They've looked bad, but they still have points in the last 6 games.

The game tonight is on Versus too - so I guess that counts as "nationally-televised" but how much of the nation really gets Versus is still up to some debate.

Also, Pensblog is gambling on the game, but they took the Wild to win. Check it out if you want an explanation on how to bet on hockey. Lets hope they end up losing some money tonight.

DE-TROIT SUCKS! DE-TROIT SUCKS!

One of the best parts of last year was clearly how well the Hawks handed Detroit their asses. The come from behind win in the home opener was some of the most fun I've had at a hockey game.

So lets hope the Hawks can continue, because Detroit somehow got even better than they were last year.

Well.. not somehow.. they got Hossa.. that's how. They took a loaded team and added a ringer.. what a bunch of pricks.

No surprise that the Wings have started they season well and probably won't give up their spot at the top of the division for the year but a win in regulation tonight will put the Hawks only one point behind them. Khabby is starting in net coming off a decent game where the defense played solid for him..

The Wings haven't lost on the road yet.. so they're due right?
The Hawks are 3-0-1 at home.. so there's that

It should be a fun game...

I Hear Mindless Noise, Rozner Must've Had a Thought

We here at Here Come The Hawks love it when Barry Rozner vomits up something for the Daily Herald, makes us feel a whole lot better about who we are as people. He was at it again today:

Time is right for Tallon to make big move

Dale Tallon's up to something.

At least, that's the feeling you get with the NHL GMs meeting right here in town.

We didn't know that all the GM's being in one place meant that something would happen. Is that a universal law? Here we thought they were discussing rules changes and possible expansion. But no, they've all come to help Dale Tallon!! What a bunch of guys!

The Blackhawks' general manager looked like a beaten man during the news conference announcing a coaching change, but his demeanor has since improved, and he's got a great opportunity now to make something happen and save his own hide.

No move would be bigger, or have more impact, than subtracting goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin from the roster.

(NEWS FLASH! NEWS FLASH!)

It would please boss John McDonough to no end, as McDonough pushed for the signing of free agent Cristobal Huet based on what he saw in net last season, and while new to hockey even McDonough knows you can't have $12 million, or 21 percent of your cap, in goal.

God are we tired of this. John McDonough is a lot of things. Good at his job, determined, communist, porn star, but he's NOT STUPID. Because of this, we think it's extrememly unlikely, even laughable, that McD would push for any hockey decision. Or as Rozner says, being new to hockey, McDonough knows to NOT INTERFERE.

Getting rid of Khabibulin and his $6.7 million salary would be a miracle, but the best way to make it happen is for Khabibulin to play well, and that's almost certainly why he's still playing.

If Tallon pulls it off, and doesn't have to pay too much of Khabibulin's salary, it would free up cap space to add some size on defense. Someone like Chris Pronger, who played eight seasons for Joel Quenneville in St. Louis, might be available in a month or two if the Ducks can't right the ship.

Khabby is still playing because it's the only option, isn't it? Well, actually, it wasn't. But it's the only one a balls-less Tallon could choose. The minors would have worked, and sitting him on the bench also was a choice, but both could have resulted in a sulking, angry Khabby, being a distraction.

But our favorite part by far is the "doesn't hav eto pay too much of Khabibuulin's salary...". Um, Barry, you're not allowed to pay salary to someone on another team, like baseball or basketball. Only if he's claimed on re-entry waivers. Did you mean that? That wouldn't be a trade then, would it? Seeing as how a trade, as we understand it, though we haven't read a book in a while, is when someone gives you something they have for something you have.

Pronger? He makes exactly half-a-million less than Khabby, and is signed through next year. He's 34. How does that solve a #2 center? And instead of paying 12 million in goal, you want to pay 13 for two d-men? Really? That's how you want to go about it? I don't think government bailouts are spreading to sports, much less hockey, Barry.

Or the Hawks could add some goal scoring. There will be plenty of names available come January and February, and keep in mind that McDonough expects the Hawks to make the playoffs this season.

Yes, McDonough's the only one. Rocky and Bowman expect nothing. They're nihlists.

Equally important is for Tallon to begin moving some kids before they're exposed, though that is already occurring.

The Hawks had an excellent chance over the summer to get a No. 1 center and take some pressure off Jonathan Toews, but they passed on Olli Jokinen as he went to Phoenix.

Cam Barker would have likely been part of any deal with Florida, and the jury's still out on the young defenseman, though he has been unimpressive at the NHL level thus far. It doesn't help now that he's stuck at Rockford because of cap restrictions.

So you've just said the Hawks kids are proving to be uneffective outside of Toews and Kane and then wonder why they couldn't put together a package for Jokinen? And you complain that Barker hasn't been impressive in the NHL, which really isn't totally true, and then lament that he's not here. What color is the sky in your world, Barry?

There will be tagging issues in the years to come, and Toews and Patrick Kane will be receiving their monster contract extensions, so this will only get more difficult.

Good thing you've just advocated picking up a 6 million dollar, 34 year old defenseman when you're already loaded there, or a 5.5 million dollar #2 center. That's fancy math!!

Right, enough. My brain hurts. I'm sure Barry's does too.

It's Easy When You're All Alone: Hawks 3, Whatever It Was Wearing Oilers Jerseys 0

We discovered tonight that hockey is an incredibly easy game when your opponent doesn't bother to show up. The Hawks were more than grateful, and put this game away about the time Aaron Johnson hit the twine. (Quick note on Johnson: Is he Jordan Hendry 2? He's hardly let anyone down, been very solid.) After that is was a simple task of negotiating not fucking up, and the Hawks did it masterfully, as the Oilers only managed one or two good chances all night. Khabby should have broken out a bong halfway through the 2nd.

Real star tonight was the PK. Not only a shorty, but nullified what had been a red hot Oilers power play into nothing more than a confused board meeting. Oilers couldn't muster any momentum off their man advantage, and thus the Hawks never lost it. The Men of Four Feathers also took it to the Oilers physically all night, and the Oiler D looked slow all night. Hey, I think Ales Hemsky is offsides again.

Get it in the fucking zone already!

Game 7 Preview: Oil Spill at Hawks

I'm sure I'm not the only one, but the Oilers have always been a second favorite team for me. Partly because I feel for any fandom that lives in a place so fucking cold, partly due to their hilarious upset of the Wings a few years back, but mostly because they're the hockey version of the Oakland A's. They're always young and cool, and fast, though the A's are rarely fast, so I guess for this metaphor to work fast in hockey would have to translate to patient at the plate in baseball. Does that work? No, not in the least? Yeah, well, we're stuck with it.

Anyway, this Oilers team is no different, in fact it's bursting at the seams with speed and skill. However, every expert on the planet has been lining up to pick the Oil to win the Northwest this year, and I'm not so convinced, merely because last year seems a mirage, with 14 shootout wins. Half that and this team would have been swimming near the dredges of the conference. They are certainly better than last season's version, but how much and what that means, I couldn't tell you. But they've certainly gotten off to a flyer this season, winning their first four, and attempting to win their first five of a season for the first time in 23 years.

The Oilers have the oddity of two D-men leading their scoring, in Souray and Grebeshkov. which might explain why their PP is clicking at about 30 percent. Or maybe it's the other way around. Either way, it's not good for the Hawks. You wouldn't be out of your mind to expect a repeat of the 6-5 OT orgy of madness that was these two teams' last meeting, and that's the game the Oilers want to play. Chicago's going to have to repeat their showing from Sunday, their most disciplined and responsible performance of the season. Give this Edmonton team any space and Khabby is going to be looking behind him an awful lot.

My Baby's on The Level: Hawks 4, Children of The Corn 2

Back to .500 is what that title refers to, I think. Anyway, a solid if not spectatcular effort from the Hawks last night. After the 10-minute mark in the first, after they had shaken out the legs from playing the night before, the Hawks were pretty much the better team from there on out, scoring 4 straight goals before one half of the corn twins netted for the final score of 4-2.

Game started out as they usually do versus the Canucks-who-now-resemble-the-Whalers, with Vancouver pretty much pushing the smaller Hawks all around the ice, not creating many chances themseleves, and whatever shots the Hawks do get are easily snuffed out by Captain Marvelous in net. Game was actually quite chippy throughout, many board meetings after whistles and a couple fights, where Burish and Eager got the worst of it, and that's being kind. Though Burish seems to enjoy getting punched in the face. Like it gives him power or something. Like Albert Pujols eating mentally-challenged kids for baseball power. Oh, he says he cares for them, but do you ever seem them again? No, you don't.

Hey, look, a power play! Two goals? You're allowed to do that? It has to be said that one came right after a Hawks penalty ended causing a brief man-advantage, but that's just efficient I suppose. Coach Q is obviously trying to figure out what works and who goes where, as both units were constantly in flux. Sometimes Sharp at the point on Unit 1, sometimes Buff, Bolland got a look there on the second unit, Ladd was on it once, then wasn't. Also, as some have pointed out, Captain Fantastic Toews isn't killing penalties at the moment. We'll see how long that lasts.

Not easy to score twice in a game when you don't provide the final touch on either goal, but Patrick Sharp turned that trick, once netting from a charitable Mattais Ohlund stick and another from a swinging Luongo skate to tap in a post-rebounding shot. It's almost laughable people are criticizing Sharp at center. Yes, he's better on the wing, but he hasn't let anyone down in the middle, in fact, name a better Hawks player over the whole of this season. Don't worry, we'll wait.

If you said Patrick Kane, we'd accept that, too. Another multi-point night for the boy who provides us with Scorpions songs, and how can you not love that? His pass to Sharp for the 4th was fit through an area so tight he could have been charged for statutory rape. Nice to see him carrying the load while Toews struggles, though pretty soon he's going to have a highlight goal to match the one from last year, as he's attempted about 3 or 4 this season that have only been lacking a finish. Soon enough.

Solid. And solid, for now, we'll do.